Ebola doctor: Growing stronger every day

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Both were flown home to the U.S. and are being treated at Emory University Hospital

Nancy Writebol's husband says she's not yet in the clear but "in very good hands"

Kent Brantly says his "focus ... remains the same -- to follow God"

Like the other American who volunteered to help others in Africa and ended up with Ebola, Nancy Writebol is driven first and foremost by her fervent faith.

Still, that doesn't mean she doesn't need -- or deserve -- a pick-me-up.

So, after arriving at Atlanta's Emory University Hospital from Liberia, Nancy Writebol asked for -- and received -- coffee from Starbucks. That was a definite plus about being back in her home country, though her husband acknowledges she has a long way to go to beat the deadly disease.

"I don't believe we can say she is in the clear, (but) I would say she is in very good hands," her husband, David Writebol, said Friday. "... I am praying like never before."

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Western Africa continues fight with Ebola

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Ebola outbreak – The current Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa is thought to have infected 1,093people, and killed 660. Doctors Without Borders has described the epidemic as "out of control."

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Ebola virus in West Africa9 photos

Ebola outbreak – The outbreak began in forested areas of south-eastern Guinea, before spreading into Sierra Leone and Liberia. Pictured, a health specialist works in a lab set up in a tent at the Doctors Without Borders facility in Gueckedou, Guinea.

Ebola outbreak – People can be infected by others if they come into contact with body fluids from an infected person or contaminated objects from infected persons. Pictured, Guinean Red Cross members spread awareness about the Ebola virus.

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Ebola virus in West Africa9 photos

Ebola outbreak – Typically, symptoms appear 8-10 days after exposure to the virus, but the incubation period can span two to 21 days.

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Ebola virus in West Africa9 photos

Ebola outbreak – The Ivorian Ministry of Health has asked Ivorians to avoid consuming or handling bushmeat. The virus can spread to animal primates and humans who handle infected meat -- a risk given the informal trade in bushmeat in forested central and West Africa.

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Ebola virus in West Africa9 photos

Ebola outbreak – The World Health Organization says that healthcare workers have been attacked and threatened in some affected villages. Healthcare workers have struggled to convince some communities to change traditional burial practices that could promote transmission of the virus.

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Ebola virus in West Africa9 photos

Ebola outbreak – Gloves and boots used by medical staff, drying in the sun, at a center for victims of the Ebola virus in Gueckedou, Guinea.

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Ebola virus in West Africa9 photos

Ebola outbreak – Isolation tents at Donka Hospital in Conakry, Guinea. This is the first outbreak to have affected Guinea. Previous outbreaks have affected Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Republic of the Congo.

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EXPAND GALLERY

On the same day he spoke about his wife's illness, the other infected American, who is being treated at the same Atlanta hospital, spoke publicly for the first time.

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Go inside plane that held Ebola patients

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Go inside plane that held Ebola patients02:09

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Dr. Kent Brantly said in a statement that he is receiving "the very best care possible" and "growing stronger every day."

Brantly and the Writebols talked about what led them to Liberia, where they thrust themselves into the midst of poverty and disease with a mission focusing on those in need. They also spoke about their struggles now to overcome Ebola.

Brantly, 33, went to Liberia with his wife and two children last year to serve a two-year fellowship through a Samaritan's Purse post-residency program to practice general medicine.

But everything changed when Ebola started to sweep through West Africa. Brantly got a new role as medical director for the Samaritan's Purse Ebola Consolidated Case Management Center in Monrovia.

"I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them," he said Friday. "I witnessed the horror firsthand and I can still remember every face and name."

It was in Monrovia where Brantly said he "immediately isolated" himself after first feeling ill. Three days later, his Ebola diagnosis was confirmed, though it didn't trigger the emotional response one might expect.

"When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding," he said. "God was reminding me of what he had taught me years ago, that he will give me everything I need to be faithful to him."

Two weeks after that diagnosis, Brantly said, "My focus ... remains the same -- to follow God."